TCNJ Claims NJAC Women’s Soccer Title Over Rowan in Penalty Shootout
Before 660 spectators at the Rowan Soccer/Lacrosse Complex, second-seeded The College of New Jersey and top-seeded Rowan battled through 110 minutes of scoreless soccer Saturday night prior to TCNJ successfully converting all four penalty kicks to secure a 4-1 victory and capture the 2026 NJAC Women’s Soccer Championship.
The title gives the Lions the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Meanwhile, Rowan will await its opponent as an at-large selection when the NCAA reveals the bracket during its selection show on Monday, November 9. This marks the third time in four years that the trophy heads to Ewing.
An Evenly Matched Defensive Battle
The final matched two of the nation’s top programs, with Rowan entering at No. 2 nationally and TCNJ at No. 6, and it played out as evenly as those rankings suggested. Through regulation and a pair of overtime periods, neither defense conceded a goal while Rowan generated narrow advantages in shots (13-12), shots on target (6-5), and corner kicks (8-4).
TCNJ held the better of the first half, outshooting Rowan 8-3 as Emily Weidner finished with a game-high six shots to keep pressure on the Profs’ back line. Enya Carthy, the Rowan goalkeeper, preserved a scoreless tie at halftime by turning away attempts from Lexi Caruso, Jenny Ward, and Alyssa Alfano.
The momentum swung after halftime as Rowan outshot TCNJ 7-1 in the second half and earned five corner kicks. Ellen Williams, the Lions’ netminder, denied Gabby Rabinowitz in the 84th minute and Cali Sloan in the 64th to maintain the scoreless deadlock.
The overtime periods brought more of the same. An initial extra-session try by Bella Moore was blocked away by Williams, and Carthy responded right before the period’s expiration by stopping Hayden Tormasi. Sending the championship to penalty kicks, Williams recorded her final save of the second overtime by denying Riley Fortna in the 102nd minute.
Lions Defeat Rowan in Penalty Shootout After Draw
During the tiebreaker, TCNJ received successful conversions from Caruso, Alfano, Ava Visaggio, and Maggie Murphy, whereas Sara Wiedeman scored the lone reply for Rowan. Williams played all 110 minutes in goal and made six saves for the Lions. Carthy also went the distance for Rowan and finished with five saves, while Moore paced the Profs’ attack with four shots, two of them on goal.
Ahead of the match, the Lions (14-1-2) were led by Danny Blank, who is in his fourth year, looking to secure his third title. Rowan entered the title game at 15-0 after winning the regular season meeting 2-1, seeking to repeat after downing the Lions in a shootout the previous November.
